Volkswagen will participate at this year's edition of the Nürburgring 24-hour endurance race over the weekend of 12-16 May with three natural gas-powered Scirocco GT24-CNGs.

The Scirocco GT24-CNG coupes are fitted with the same 2.0-litre TSI engine modified to run on natural gas. Thay helped VW to secure class victory at last year's event. A few minor tweaks help to increase output from 325HP to 330HP.

Further developments of the 2009-spec Scirocco racers include a larger braking system to reduce maintenance intervals and the integration of two additional light units into the front bumper to improve visibility at night.

In addition, one of the three racers features a new active electro-hydraulic differential in place of the conventional system which is fitted to the other two cars. The company claims that it combines the functionality of the conventional system with improved handling characteristics and a reduction in under-steer.

Volkswagen said that during the latest of the preparation races, one of its drivers, Nicki Thim, posted a lap record on the Nordschleife circuit for a front-wheel drive vehicle in a time of 8mins 47.337 seconds.

I have been a car fanatic since 1989, when my father was changing our family car then to a Toyota Corolla 1.6 GL fitted with a Twin Cam 16 valve engine that was carburetor-fed, a big deal back in those days. The automobile technology and industry fascinates me and I hope to broadcast these interesting developments to everyone out there through this blog.